Boston Children’s Museum Fact Sheet

Museum Fact Sheet.pdf - (393kb)

Mission
Boston Children’s Museum engages children and families in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning.

Vision
Boston Children’s Museum is a welcoming, imaginative, child-centered learning environment that supports diverse families in nurturing their children's creativity and curiosity. We promote the healthy development of all children so that they will fulfill their potential and contribute to our collective wellbeing and future prosperity.

Almost 100 Years of Helping Children Learn About Their World

• Founded by Boston Public School teachers in 1913 in Jamaica Plain
• Second oldest children’s museum in the world
• First museum to introduce family-focused and hands-on exhibits
• Moved to 100 year old former wool warehouse along the Fort Point Channel in 1979
• Completed $47-million expansion and renovation project in 2007

Groundbreaking Exhibits

• Peep’s World – Preschool science exhibit
• Japanese House (Kyo-no-Machiya) – Gift from Boston’s Japanese Sister City Kyoto to the city of Boston in 1979
• PlaySpace – First exhibit for young children
• Climbing structure – First of its kind
• Traveling exhibits developed by the Museum – Featured in museums in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada
• Countdown to Kindergarten – Exhibit to help kids and families prepare for kindergarten

Commitment to Four Ideals

• Play – Encourage imagination and curiosity
• Learn –Help families develop the habits for learning
• Innovate – Create new programs to meet tomorrow’s challenges
• Collaborate – Work in partnership with communities to support children and families

Learning about Learning

• KIDS @fterschool – First free, online afterschool curriculum
• Playlab – MIT conducts cognitive research with young children onsite
• PEEP’s World – Developing tool to measure how people interact with exhibits
• School readiness – Partnering with educators, families and community organizations to provide kids with hands-on learning experiences

Learning Resources

• Museum kits and training – Innovative multimedia curricula and professional development for educators in formal and informal settings
• Museum programs – Align with Massachusetts State Learning Standards

Boston’s First “Green” Museum

• New construction awarded LEED® Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008
• Green building elements – Green roofs; storm water reclamation system; recycled, local and low-emitting building materials
• Our Green Trail – Exhibit highlighting the green aspects of the Museum’s building and grounds. The online component of the exhibit can be found at www.ourgreentrail.org.

Museum Operations

• 46 full-time, 54 part-time staff
• Annual budget – $10M
• Maximum 40-member board of trustees, maximum 46-member board of overseers
• Size – 82,862 square feet: Museum floors 1, 2 & 3 (excluding admin offices and Au Bon Pain); 177,074 square feet (entire building)
• Fully accredited by American Association of Museums (AAM)
• Over 50,000 items in the Museum’s collections
• Great location for meetings, conferences, and parties

Visitor Demographics

• 558,616 visitors annually (FY 2011)
• 10,000+ member households
• 36% receive free or discounted admission
• 6% visit with camp, community or school groups
• Almost 89% are from New England and 78% from Massachusetts

What’s Ahead

• Changing exhibits and engaging public programs
• 2013 – Boston Children’s Museum celebrates its 100th Birthday!